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Friday, January 27, 2006

Ind. Law - Editorials: Health insurance perk should be canceled

Two more papers have strong editorials today on the Indiana General Assembly's health care perks.

From the Marion County Tribune, an editorial headlined "Health insurance perk should be canceled: Legislature should repeal the entire bill that enabled the plan." After noting that Speaker Bosma has announced that he will unilaterally revoke the plan for House members elected or reelected in 2006, the editorial continues:

Hoosiers should not have to count on orders from the House speaker and the Senate president pro tem. Those orders can be changed easily.

The whole plan, including the enrollment authority granted the speaker and president pro tem, should be repealed. That is why House Bill 1309 should be brought out of committee and passed by both the House and the Senate.

The whole issue caught people's attention when state Auditor Connie Nass said the plan was expected to cost the state $306,000 a year by 2008.

Given the state's financial condition and especially the problems with Medicare funding, there shouldn't be much discussion.

That's in addition to the embarrassment factor. Considering the financial demands health insurance places on so many constituents, as well as those constituents who can't even afford it, legislators should, in theory, at least, be ashamed to sign up.

Some might argue that the free health insurance was an incentive to get people to consider public service. Maybe, but members of the General Assembly should not be treated differently than other state employees, and this isn't available to all of them. (And before someone gets a bright idea, it shouldn't be made available to all state employees, either.)

No one enjoys paying higher health insurance premiums. But taxpayers should not be saddled with another government cost that easily can be avoided.

The perk was ridiculous when it became law in 2002, and nothing has changed that. HB 1309 should become law, and the health insurance perk should become history.

The Elkhart Truth writes:
It's just one of those things that doesn't look fair to regular folks.

Lifetime health care benefits to former state lawmakers and their family members, including ex-spouses, subsidized by Hoosier taxpayers? Yes, it exists right here in the state of Indiana.

Give credit to House Speaker Brian Bosma, who wants the practice to stop. He changed the rules last week so that anyone elected or re-elected to the Indiana House of Representatives this November would have to pay the full cost without state subsidy after leaving office and they would lose most coverage when they are eligible for Medicare.

Since 2002, anyone who served a day more than six years and who either retired or lost re-election were eligible for state health insurance for themselves and their families for life at a locked-in premium, regardless of cost. About 25 former members from both chambers are on the plan right now.

Most other state employees have to pay the full cost of their insurance upon retirement, so legislators are saving as much as $12,800 over what other retirees are paying for the same type of coverage.

Almost a year ago, state officials said the program costs more than $250,000. Part of the problem is, no one knows exactly how much it's costing taxpayers. State Auditor Connie Nass has proposed an annual actuarial study of the program so that it can be included in required federal financial reports of unfunded liabilities.

Bosma's actions don't impact the Senate and don't keep future speakers from bringing back the perk. State Rep. Troy Woodruff, R-Vincennes, has filed a bill to repeal the laws that allowed legislative leaders to implement the plan. Bosma killed the bill last year and it has been assigned to a committee where it will likely see the same fate this year.

Shame on Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, a long-time Republican legislator himself, who wants to hang on to the old ways. He helped implement the plan back in 2002. While the Senate is considering some changes, they are not expected to be as severe as those made by Bosma.

The Indiana General Assembly is supposed to be considered a citizen Legislature, so it seems like a huge contradiction that lawmakers would receive perks that their constituents don't even come close to enjoying, yet have to foot the bill for.

The plans should be eliminated permanently in both the House and the Senate. Serving in the Legislature shouldn't entitle anyone to special treatment on health insurance for which most average Hoosiers have to pay a hefty premium.

[For earlier related ILB entries, select "Legislative Benefits" from the list of categories in the right column, or by selecting "Legislative Benefits" in the line directly below this entry.]

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 27, 2006 09:25 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law | Legislative Benefits